The most holy shit! submission we've received this year on the TZEEEAC email has got to be the inconspicuous message from Christian Peters, guitarist for psychedelic stoner kings Samsara Blues Experiment who also runs the Electric Magic record label, announcing us that his band was about to release a new album titled Waiting for the Flood. Oh, and he included a link for us to download and listen to it in advance. mind = blown. Definitely the biggest email-related surprise of this year and definitely something I never expected back in 2011, when we started this website.
So, is it any good? "Well that's a dumb fucking question", said everyone who's ever listened to this band, "it's Samsara Blues Experiment, how could it NOT be good?" And you're spot on, fellow SBE fans. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that Waiting for the Flood is their best album yet. Featuring 4 tracks, each one blowing past the 10 minute mark, this album is the cosmic journey old-timey Romanian astronaut Dumitru Prunariu wishes he could have taken, if only he'd had a stash of those hard-ass '70s psychedelic drugs everyone in the rest of Europe was raving about. Alas, this was not the case, unfortunately, and instead he had a boring 8-day trip in outer space where he just performed a bunch of stupid science experiments.
The dudes in Samsara Blues Experiment seem to have taken a space trip of their own, with a small detour in the Orient and the destination set to the Riff-filled Land. Striking a perfect balance between improvisation and structured songwriting, SBE have created a monster of an album, featuring '70s-inspired psych rock, heavy stoner riffs and a clear taste for long, spaced-out jams that just spiral out of control like in some crazy fever dream. The one thing that will stick with you, apart from the insane guitar solos, is the sheer HEAVINESS of the guitars and bass. Every riff they pull sounds massive, while Richard's groovy bass lines rumble away like the engines of a space shuttle, backed by the pounding drums, courtesy of drummer Thomas Vedder.
Needless to say, Waiting for the Flood is an album that lends itself well to obsessive, repeated listens. I've been listening to it on and off for about a month and I still feel I'm nowhere close to discovering all of the different movements, parts, riffs, licks, jams and solos of each track. There's so much variety and weird-tasting meat to be gnawed off these bones, it's unreal.
I'd like to thank the guys in Samsara Blues Experiment both for creating this amazing work of art and for being kind enough to share it with us. As for you, reader, you should crank up the volume and give this a spin, ASAP! It'll take you places you never knew existed. Just be sure to buckle up beforehand. It's gonna be one hell of a ride!
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